Paul Bryar

Paul Bryar (born Gabriel Paul Barrere; February 21, 1910 – August 30, 1985) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly half a century, he appeared in numerous films and television series.

Bryar appeared in nearly 220 films between 1938 and 1983, although most of his roles were small in size. He made his film debut in the Harold Lloyd comedy Professor Beware. Some B-movies during the 1940s and 1950s like Jungle Siren, Lady from Chungking, Parole, Inc. and The Bob Mathias Story gave him the chance to play substantial supporting roles.

Bryar appeared in three movies directed by Alfred Hitchcock, including Vertigo (1958), where he had an uncredited role as the friendly Police Captain who accompanies James Stewart to the coroner's inquest. The other Hitchcock films were Notorious (1946) and The Wrong Man (1956). He also appeared in a 1955 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Byrar was typecast as a policeman in numerous other films, including Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and some Bowery Boys films. Bryar also played bartenders, district attorneys, sheriffs, photographers and guards. He appeared in Charles Laughton's film classic The Night of the Hunter (1955) as a hangman and family father who feels depressed about his work. Bryar also played Card Player #1 who quits the game before the main card player, Macon (Donnelly Rhodes), threatens the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) in the opening scene of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Many have mistakenly assumed that it was Bryar's character who threatened the Sundance Kid.

From the 1950s until the early 1980s, Bryar appeared in about 150 television shows. He was seen in The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, Batman, Little House on the Prairie, Emergency!, Bewitched, The Andy Griffith Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Leave It to Beaver; Kung Fu and Hart to Hart. Paul Bryar also appeared in the first season of Barnaby Jones; episode titled, "To Denise, with Love and Murder"(04/22/1973). He had a recurring role as Sheriff Harve Anders in the short-lived series The Long, Hot Summer between 1965 and 1966. His last role was a small part in the film Heart Like a Wheel, two years before his death.

He was married to actress Claudia Bryar until his death in 1985. They had three children, including Paul Barrere, guitarist and singer with the rock band Little Feat.